The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
India is beset with a perfect storm of shocks. The COVID-19 public health emergency has led to an unprecedented, months’ long lockdown of 1.3 billion citizens, which has displaced millions of migrant workers, put the economy under severe stress and stretched administrative capacity. The Government of India has announced a …
International trade in goods is expected to continue its nosedive in the coming months as economies struggle to recover from lockdown measures used to slow the COVID-19 outbreak. New UNCTAD data published on 11 June show that merchandise trade fell by 5% in the first quarter of the year and …
COVID-19 has triggered the deepest global recession in decades. While the ultimate outcome is still uncertain, the pandemic will result in contractions across the vast majority of emerging market and developing economies. It will also do lasting damage to labor productivity and potential output. The immediate policy priorities are to …
This report fills a gap-in-knowledge and offers a comprehensive, accessible framework to demonstrate how gender, climate and security are inextricably linked. It also highlights concrete ways to take advantage of these linkages to prevent conflict and foster lasting peace.Women and girls are facing disproportionate economic burdens due to different types …
This paper addresses a triple challenge – improving access to growth-stage capital, the ability to direct this toward green technology, and doing so during the pandemic and economic disruption. Four ideas are proposed: improved interaction with European institutions; using innovative funding structures; redesigning procurement; and giving founders a voice on …
This paper addresses the regulatory and policy environments conducive for e-commerce to thrive. In particular, as regulatory issues affecting e-commerce have become more prominent in recent regional trade agreements (RTAs), the paper seeks to investigate their role in setting the regulatory standard in this area. Indeed e-commerce- or digital trade-related …
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a health and economic crisis without modern parallel. The scale of its effects could prompt a far-reaching re-evaluation of the role of the state in relation to the market in Europe. This paper is a thought experiment examining the consequences of a change in Europe’s …
This report sheds light on one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world - ASEAN. ASEAN is expected to become the world’s fourth-largest economy and the third most populous by 20230. Countries within ASEAN are in themselves diverse, with economic, political, and cultural nuances. Over the next years, the …
Engaging the private sector in infrastructure financing through public-private partnership (PPP) can contribute significantly to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, PPP has yet to realize its potential fully in several Asia-Pacific economies. To promote this blended financing modality, a more conducive environment for PPP need …
The Work, Time & Motion Study Report of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA (Kerala) submitted by Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA). In 2017-18, Government of India asked all State Governments to conduct Time and Motion study and came up with a template to do that as well. In all cases, in …
COVID-19 continues to unfold with a profound shock across the media industry. At extraordinary speed, it has disrupted supply and demand, workforce and business operations, monetization, the industry ecosystem, and the emotional and physical health of the industry's community. The first priorities have been to adapt to ensure business continuity …
Until the COVID-19 crisis, aviation was a top-ten global emitter. While there is uncertainty regarding air traffic projections over the next year or longer, the sector’s emissions are still expected to rise dramatically by mid-century under a business-as-usual scenario. Aviation alone could consume one-quarter of the remaining global carbon budget. …
In recent years there has been an increasing drive for public financial management (PFM) to transcend its traditional role of financial control and function to a greater extent as an enabler of service delivery. However, there is continuing difficulty in prioritising PFM reforms based on a systematically derived link between …
The rapid expansion of access to digital payments has made it possible for consumers to conveniently make purchases for goods and services from merchants around the world. The current COVID-19 public health crisis will only accelerate digital trade and cross-border e-commerce as physical commerce contracts and digital commerce expands. However, …
The Index evaluates regional integration on the basis of five dimensions – trade integration, productive integration, macroeconomic integration, infrastructural integration, and integration in terms of free movement of people – for 54 African countries and for the eight RECs recognised by the African Union. ARII 2019 ranks African countries’ level …
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is dealing a severe blow to the global economy. Measures needed to protect public health have undercut an already fragile global economy, causing deep recessions in advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) alike. EMDEs that have weak health systems; those that rely heavily …
Emerging economies are facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis. The synchronous collapse in global demand and the widespread disruptions in supply chains are inflicting severe economic pain through trade, financial and commodity prices channels. To contain the pandemic, emerging economies have imposed, to varying degrees, lockdowns and social distancing …
The OECD Economic Outlook is the OECD's twice-yearly analysis of the major economic trends and prospects for the next two years. The Outlook puts forward a consistent set of projections for output, employment, prices, fiscal and current account balances. Coverage is provided for all OECD member countries as well as …
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world of work upside down. It is having a dramatic effect on the jobs, livelihoods and well-being of workers and their families and on enterprises across the globe, particularly the small and medium sized. While certain sectors and industries have successfully moved online, pointing …
This publication provides updated economic forecasts for Asia and the Pacific, taking into consideration the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Developing Asia is now projected to grow by only 0.1% in 2020, which would be the lowest regional growth outcome since 1961. Contraction is expected in all subregions except in …
